THE CONSTELLATION APPROACH. Jamy Faust

and Practices in a Constellation

      A Constellation is led by a Facilitator who guides the process from beginning to end. In addition to the Facilitator, there are three additional roles in a Constellation: the Client is the person who is actively working on an issue; the Representatives, as their name implies, represent family members or important people in the Client’s life; and Meta-representatives stand in for non-personal energies such as an illness, family religion, or ancestral homeland.

      As you may have already sensed, a Constellation operates at subtle, powerful energetic levels. Because of these nuanced dynamics, it is essential that before we begin a Constellation all Participants and Facilitators agree to engage in specific Constellation Approach practices. We share these practices below in the hope that as you read through Parts II and V, you also will agree to them. Like any practices, they require just that—practice. So, be kind to yourself if you find yourself forgetting one of them along the way.

      Suspending Moral Judgment

      In The Constellation Approach, as in all Family Constellation practices, it is imperative to Suspend Moral Judgment—to pause, postpone, or interrupt our usual way of perceiving. Morals derive from what our beliefs, society, and culture value as “good” or “honorable.” Yet the act of deciding whether someone or something is good or bad, right or wrong, limits how far we can explore the realms of consciousness and the Soul because judgments act as a barrier to a greater perception of reality. To Suspend Moral Judgment is to open to larger levels of awareness and understanding. Each of us has had an experience of failure, of being hurt or wronged in the past. Can you think of a time later in life, when that pain or failure turned out to have been a blessing? When we Suspend Moral Judgement in a Constellation, we cultivate the ability to recognize the blessings that have emerged in our lives in the aftermath of hurtful or traumatic events.

      Exploring our Family Lineage without judgment provides the opportunity to uncover secrets and investigate the lost and unexplained, what we previously knew as simply good or bad. These are the very things that bind us together as a family. When we look with open eyes, mind, and heart—Suspending our Moral Judgment—we are capable of letting go of what no longer serves our personal growth. Most importantly, we gather strength from a more meaningful and conscious connection to our Family Lineage. This strength feeds the Soul’s development. The psychic energy we previously used to distance ourselves from our family is re-channeled into more productive efforts towards reconciliation and wholeness. This is the healing power and medicine of Suspending Moral Judgment.

      Words of Empowerment

      The second practice we use in TCA, called Words of Empowerment, refers to particular words or sentences spoken aloud in a focused, succinct manner by the Client or Representatives to one another during a Constellation. These are also described as “Statements of Empowerment” or “Solution Sentences” by Family Constellation facilitators. Words of Empowerment usually begin with “I” or “You” to establish self-responsibility or direct communication. A child might say to her mother, “You are the right mother for me.” A father might say to his child, “I will take care of this; you are free to go.” Or, to someone who has died and is terribly missed, “I will hold a place for you in my heart.”

      Such affirmations hold enormous energy for healing our deep emotional pain. When words are spoken with genuine respect and truth, a resonance or vibration is felt within all Representatives as well as the larger group. Words of Empowerment may be said to one or more Representatives. When the right Words of Empowerment are spoken there is a shift in emotion, often resulting in tears, as the Client’s heart opens.

      Acknowledging, Accepting and Agreeing

      The third practice that’s central to TCA: acknowledge, accept, and agree. These three simple words are at the very foundation of the Constellation Approach and used to shift perception and guide you through the process.

      To acknowledge is associated with the Mental Level of Consciousness, the mind, the third eye, and crown chakra. It’s the first phase of a Constellation.

      I acknowledge you as my father.

      You begin with a simple statement of truth: This person is my father. No one can have two biological fathers. To acknowledge a fact aloud assists you in moving to the Emotional Level of Consciousness.

      To accept is more difficult than to acknowledge because accepting brings up the duality of choice. Accepting is associated with feelings, emotions, the heart chakra. This is the second phase of a Constellation.

      I accept you as my mother.

      When we accept, we wrestle with all the complicated and conflicted feelings that come with the acceptance process. We have to digest both the difficult and the pleasant aspects of our relationship with the other.

      As Eckhart Tolle has written, “Acceptance looks like a passive state, but in reality it brings something entirely new into the world. That peace, a subtle energy vibration, is consciousness.”

      To agree is all-inclusive. It leaves nothing out. Agreeing is associated with the deepest level of our consciousness, our Soul. To agree is the final phase of a Constellation and can be felt at all levels of our being, through the entire auric field, to the essence of our core.

      I agree to all that has happened between us in this lifetime.

      This simple word can change everything in our perspective on life, relationships, and any number of far-reaching experiences we have faced. When we can fully agree to what has transpired in our Family Lineage, we are far more likely to move beyond our emotional attachments to the past, into the fullness of our own goodness and Divinity.

      Resistance

      Prior to moving to the level of Soul Consciousness, there is a natural hesitation, on the part of our personality—a resistance to change. Becoming aware of and moving through our resistance is another practice in TCA. This step forward occurs at the Egoic Level.

      The ego is part of our consciousness that keeps us secure in our beliefs. Resistance is our ego taking a pause—catching its breath and centering, so to speak—prior to the profound change that we sense is about to occur. The ego acts like a diver pausing at the edge before leaving the security of the platform and leaping into the unknown.

      Sometimes letting go is an act of far greater power than defending or hanging on.

      —Eckhart Tolle

      Our thoughts and feelings up to this moment in time are about to be transcended. Intuition tells us that we are about to experience something potentially different, causing us to resist the unknown. Any true healing and enlightening requires that we move past our resistance and open our hearts and minds to a new reality. Resistance is normal and should be understood as a marker in the process of awakening.

      In a TCA seminar, the Client, Facilitator, and Representatives have agreed to enter into the unknown where the mysterious healing potential of a Constellation can take place. When we permit ourselves to let go of preconceived ideas, opinions, or formulas and to surrender, our perception intensifies, the unknown becomes known, and a deeper truth is found. The next step for healing appears. Mystery.

      Family Constellations are a truly mystical experience particularly when witnessed live. There are two phenomenological effects inherent to the practice of Constellations that sometimes happen immediately, which reinforce the mystery of this practice. The first is when Representatives receive information and feelings about the people they represent that they could not have possibly known. “How